MMA, where to start?

I have no MMA experience, haven't even been in a fight in my life. I just want to do it to get in better shape. What's the difference between squaring off in the ring and squaring off in the street? Where is a good place to start in the sense grappling vs submissions vs striking? What are advantages disadvantages of certain martial arts?

MMA, where to start?
I fight MMA and I will tell you what I've been told by fighters like Wanderlei Silva, Saulo, and Xande. Do what you feel best, and train hard, but do not train in some crap style just for fun.





The more "combative" martial arts can be as unreliable as the Karate, or the Kung Fu that you are taught back when you were a kid. If you receive bad technique, you aren't gonna do very well. Keep that in mind when trying to find a place.





My recommendations for styles: Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu jitsu, Boxing, Sambo, and Wrestling.





BJJ schools will teach wrestling take downs (so that is good) and a lot of them are signing up with MMA schools to improve revinue on both ends. Be careful when trying to find a BJJ school however. Look for a school which has a reputation of doing well at tournaments or has an instructor that has done well at tournaments. I have been to schools claiming they train BJJ and submit their teachers. That shouldn't happen, but that goes for all martial art schools





BJJ/Sambo- Really helpful. Most fights go to the ground, and when you do something that can hurt somebody and they don't know what to do, they are in serious trouble; however, there are a lot of techniques which you go "eh, not a good idea". Example: Flying armbar - good way to smash your head.








Boxing - good on the street once you get acclimated to it. Be careful because you can hurt your hands really bad. Additionally, this can be horrible because boxers have no clue what to do when they get grappled. Watch the first UFC's.





Muay Thai - good for elbows, knees, and clinch work. You won't want to take on anybody in thailand, but it is a very good style, especially when it is mixed with western boxing. Ever hear of Ramond Dekkers? Downfall is they have you do a lot of standing around and blocking, need to move, boxing has very good footwork.





Wrestling - wrestlers are the most dangerous normal athlete from a highschool/college atmosphere. I've seen countless football players act tough just to get dropped on their head. Watch Kevin Randlemen and think about how fedor would have felt if the mat was concrete. Bad because it can leave people open.





Street vs Ring - Way different. Watch "Felony Fights" compared to MMA. Most "street fighters" are aweful and are just big and tough. The average MMA fighter fighting the average street thug, MMA fighter will win hands down. Add a knife to the equation, the outcome can go either way. No matter what other martial arts tell you, the chances of you getting cut even with a successful disarm are still very high, and martial arts do not render you immune to a sucker punch, stabs, or even normal blows. You should not go out on the street and pick fights, but training helps if you cannot avoid the situation.





Side note - street defence, try Krav Maga
Reply:Squaring off in the street can be deadly.! But in the ring, you are fighting with a bunch of rules, which makes it a lot more safer.! Why do you think so many people are trying to get into the UFC to make easy money.?
Reply:Squaring off in the ring: you face a trained opponent, you both follow a set of rules, if one competitor doesn't follow them, he/she is disqualified, there's a referee that stops the fight in order to protect the fighters, and a doctor/ambulance ready in case of emergencies.





Squaring off in the street: you may face one of more opponents, there are no rules, there are no illegal moves, and possibly weapons involved, the worst thing is you can be permanently scared or dead.





A good place to start would be a grappling place ( such as judo, brazilian jiujutsu), and a striking place (such as muay thai or boxing).





The advantages of grappling martial arts, you learn submissions, the disadvantage is you don't learn striking.





The advantages of striking martial arts: you learn effective hits, the disadvantage is you don't learn grappling.





good luck!
Reply:I have no experience myself, but I love to watch it. I myself would start with BJJ (submission grappling), there are some fighters out there with pure BJJ skill and have done well. Most fights end up on the ground anyway. The best fighters are well rounded though. You could submit a striker, pound a submissionist, knock out a wrestler, etc.





Striking is essential because thats how the round starts. Some fights can remain standing the whole time. One good shot can end the fight. You could specialize in striking if you have good takedown defense.





Wrestlers have an advantage because of their anaerobic conditioning that helps them impose their will while sprawling or on the ground.





If you're just trying to get in shape, I hear boxing/kickboxing or muay thai's aerobic training can get intense.
Reply:squaring off in the streets and ring are way different. when u are in a ring u are against someone that has trained hard to beat you down. most people that fight in the streets can't fight. u can get stupid people that try to make u have the disadvantage, be it ganging up on you or using weapons. if you wanna get in better shape id say grappling/submission.


wrestling is a great way for cardio training.
Reply:ok sparring in the streets with no fight experience, can be fatal. Sparring in a ring, extremely safer. Also my advise, if you want to learn grappling, submissions, and striking. Take up Judo, or Ju Jitsu, and kick boxing. So go out there and join some martial arts!